Parallel Worlds
by ParchmentStories
Summary: Charlotte and Lily Hetherton are cousins. This is their story of love, heartbreak and fun.
1. Chapter 1

-1Chapter 1

It was a cold and rainy night and Charlotte was running to her cousins house, when she bumped into somebody.

"Oh, I'm sor..." she trailed off as she looked up into a pair of the most beautiful brown eyes she had ever seen, "Hi, Ed."

"Sorry about that, Lotte," Ed said, flashing one of his trademark smiles.

"Are you meant to be somewhere?"He asked

"Well, I was on my way to Lily's," she replied, "Aren't you supposed to be at band practice now."

"I'm on my way now," Ed answered, "Well, I better be going, can't be late"

"Ok," Charlotte smiled, "I'll see you later, then."

When she finally arrived at Lily's house she noticed a large pair of hazel eyes at the window.

That meant Lily had seen everything that had happened.

As she walked towards the door, it opened to reveal Lily.

"You like him, don't you?" Lily teased.

"What? Who? Ed? No!" Charlotte insisted.

"You do!" Lily screeched, "What are Dan and Teddy going to say when they find out you like their friend?"

Charlotte scowled, as she knew exactly what would happen if they found out

"Don't you dare tell them," She threatened.

"Ahhh..." Lily smiled "I was right"

"But...but...I..." Charlotte tried to defend herself, "Teddy will kill me and Dan will probably join you in teasing me eternally."

"And that's the beauty of it all." Lily said, smiling widely.

Charlotte narrowed her eyes at Lily.

"Are you coming back to mine?" she asked, dreading the reply, "I told the guys we would give them an outside opinion on their new songs."

"Of course" Lily said in a sickly sweet voice "I'd Love to"

"I know it isn't the sort of stuff you like, but it could be fun," Charlotte smiled.

"Oh, I know it will be very, very fun" Lily said, smiling evilly. At that moment Charlotte knew exactly what Lily was thinking.

"Don't you dare. If you do I'll..." Charlotte began.

"Oh! Look at the time, I think we should go now!" Lily said, grabbing her coat.

Lily pushed Charlotte out of the house and then ran around the corner to the Hetherton's.

She charged through the door and straight into the kitchen, where she saw the whole band standing around talking.

"I know who Charlotte fancies!" she declared.

"Don't you dare!" came an angry voice from the door.

"Charlotte fancies..." but Lily was cut off as Ed put his hand over her mouth to stop her.

"Now that wouldn't be fair would it?"

"Thanks," Charlotte mumbled, as Ed removed his hand from Lily's mouth.

"Well, Miss Hetherton, care to share?" Ali asked.

"Not really," Charlotte mumbled, looking at the floor to hide the fact that she was blushing.

"Come on," Alex said, "It's not like you fancy one of us."

Charlotte just continued to stare at her converse-clad feet as Lily snorted with laughter.

"I'll tell if you want" Lily offered, smiling.

"No!" Charlotte said, panicking.

"Come on, you can tell me outside" Ed said, leading her out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

-1Chapter 2

Charlotte allowed Ed to lead her into the hallway, but refused to look at him when he stopped and turned towards her.

"Come on, Lotte," Ed coaxed, "You can tell me. I promise I won't tell the others if you don't want me to."

Charlotte muttered something incoherent and Ed leaned in closer to hear her.

She looked up and was surprised at how close they were.

"You," she breathed, as they closed the gap between them.

They leapt apart as they heard somebody clear their throat from the doorway.

"Well, well, well," Dan smirked, "That's an interesting way of telling him."

Charlotte glared at her twin as he looked between her and Ed, who was shuffling from one foot to the other, looking embarrassed.

"What's that look for, Lotte?" Dan chuckled, "It's not like I wouldn't find out. We are twins. We have this weird telepathic link...thing."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow at Dan.

"Telepathic link thing?" she queried, "You mean you are just nosy and would ask Lily to tell you everything?"

"Well...yeah, I suppose," Dan smiled, "Bit quiet aren't you, Ed?"

Ed opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again when he realised he had nothing to say.

Dan beckoned them back into the kitchen and announced that Charlotte had not revealed who she liked.

Charlotte marched over to Lily and dragged her upstairs. Once they were safely shut in her bedroom, Charlotte spoke.

"I am going to kill him! That evil git is at the top of my hitlist!" she told Lily.

"Why?" Lily asked, genuinely confused.

"He walked in on me and Ed kissing and now he's going to use that information as blackmail because he knows that Teddy will go all protective and stuff if he finds out," Charlotte explained.

"Aww! You kissed! That's so sweet!" Lily cooed.

Charlotte gave her a stern look.

"Come on. It can't be that bad. Why do you always worry about what Dan and Teddy will say? Teddy is too laid back to go mental over something like you and Ed kissing," Lily reassured her, "It's not like he can go on about Ed being older than you either, especially seeing as Dan's girlfriend has only just turned 17."

Charlotte's head snapped up at this new revelation.

"What?!" she asked.

"Well...erm...he's kind of dating Mel," Lily revealed.

"Oh really," smirked Charlotte, getting up and moving towards the door, "Shall we go and watch the guys practice?"

She left the room and walked down to the basement, where the band was setting up, with Lily trailing behind her, looking a little confused at her sudden change of attitude.


	3. Chapter 3

-1Chapter 3

Lily ran in after Charlotte and watched her stride right over to Dan and whisper something in his ear. He scowled before turning away. Teddy gave his younger siblings a funny look, but decided he would rather not know what they were talking about.

Charlotte walked back over to Lily and saw her with a large grin plastered onto her face.

"What are you smiling at?" she asked.

"Nothing" Lily replied, smiling innocently.

Suddenly a phone went off and Lily blushed brightly before running out of the room and answering it.

The guys started to play a song called "Parallel Worlds". Charlotte tapped her feet along to the catchy song and gave Teddy the thumbs up when he looked for her reaction. Teddy grinned, happy that at least one other person liked their music.

Lily came sauntering back into the room, still grinning broadly.

"Well?" Charlotte prompted, under the music.

"It was just Jason," Lily smiled.

"I still don't quite understand how you met Jason Dolley in the first place and how you managed to end up dating him," Charlotte said, puzzled.

"I went to that audition with you and he was there. We got talking while you were in and we just kind of clicked," Lily shrugged, "What happened with that audition by the way?"

"I didn't hear anything back," Charlotte replied.

"Excuse me ladies," Alex's voice came through the speakers, "Have you quite finished gossiping? We want to know what you thought."  
Charlotte and Lily looked at the guys and smiled.

"It was alright I guess. Not my type of music, though," Lily told them.

"I liked it. Obviously it would sound better with me singing," Charlotte joked.

"Go on then. I dare you," Ed grinned, handing Charlotte the sheet music.

"You have got to be kidding," she said.

All five guys shook their heads and Alex moved away from his microphone. Charlotte turned to Lily, but Lily just pushed her towards the guys.

"Ok then," Charlotte sighed, defeated, "But don't blame me if I kill it."


	4. Chapter 4

-1Chapter 4

Charlotte reluctantly walked over to the microphone. Ed winked at her and Dan smirked as she adjusted the microphone stand.

Charlotte cleared her throat as the band started to play. She sung rather quietly at first, but her confidence grew as the song went on. She couldn't help but notice how well her voice blended with Ed's during the harmonies.

The song ended and the guys and Lily clapped as Charlotte sat back down.

"Wow," Alex smiled, "You have a great voice."

"Yeah. I think we ought to replace Alex. We've found a much better singer," Ed grinned.

Alex shook his head and chuckled as Charlotte blushed.

"I think I quite like that one," Lily said, "But only when Alex sings."

Charlotte glared at her as Alex smiled smugly.

"Joking, joking," Lily said quickly, "Gawddd, You're so uptight..."

Charlotte nudged Lily playfully as Alex finally laughed.

"It laughs! I have achieved my first mission," Lily grinned, "Next mission, make Alex smile in photo's."

Alex stuck his tongue out at Lily.

"Really mature," Charlotte and Dan smirked.

"So what were you girls gossiping about earlier?" Alex asked, ignoring the twins remark.

"Well..." Charlotte began, but stopped abruptly as Lily trod on her foot.

"I heard them," Ali joked, "They were discussing how much Charlotte painfully fancies me."

Charlotte stuck her tongue out at Ali.

"Really mature," Alex imitated Charlotte and Dan's earlier comment.

"I'll tell you what we were really talking about," Charlotte said, smiling at Lily.

"Oh," Lily said, looking at her watch, "Is that the time? I need to go, see you guys later."

Lily then attempted to escape to the door but was held back by Charlotte.

"Oh but my darling cousin, don't you want everybody to know about our lovely conversation?" Charlotte teased.

"Not really..." Lily muttered.

"Ok. I won't tell you," Charlotte sighed, "LilyisgoingoutwithJasonDolley," she said very quickly so that Lily couldn't stop her.

There was a suprised silence. Lily glared at Charlotte, in such a way everyone was taken aback. Yet Charlotte seemed unmoved, smug almost.

"You promised you wouldn't tell," Lily muttered.

"Ooops," Charlotte said sarcastically.

"And I suppose you don't want anybody else to know that you kissed Ed?" Lily retorted.

Charlotte swore under her breath, and saw Ed looking at his shoes, avoiding the band's gaze.

"Ooops..." Lily mimicked.

"Can you repeat all that?" Ali asked, "I missed a bit."

He recieved three scowls from the two girls and Ed.

"Sorry," Ali muttered, "I was only kidding."

"You should be," Ed mumbled.

"Not the right time for a joke" Lily said, "Anyway, changing the topic..."

"Whoa, hold on a sec," Teddy said, after finally registering what had been said, "You two kissed?"

Dan clapped slowly, "Well done, you're a bit slow."

Charlotte and Ed resumed their tomato imitations.

"I suppose we better go," Charlotte said, dragging Lily with her.

"That would be a good idea" Ali said, "It'll all blow over."

"Where exactly are you going?" Dan asked, "I thought you were coming to our photoshoot with us?"

"Don't leave me," Ed groaned.

"Yes, lets stay." Lily said decidedly.

Ed let out a sigh of relief, safe in the knowledge that he wasn't going to be left alone with the guys.

Lily giggled at Ed's look of relief when he realised that Charlotte was staying.

"Can't bear to be separated can you?" she asked.

Charlotte turned to Lily, "You don't need to stay," she said, "After all, you are otherwise engaged."

Lily looked at her and scowled.

"Otherwise engaged? What's that supposed to mean?"Ali asked.

"It means she has other arrangements," Charlotte explained.

"I know what it means," Ali said, "I meant what's so important that she has to leave?"

"It doesn't matter," Lily said, "See you guys later"

"She has a date with Jason," Charlotte smiled as Lily closed the door.

"She actually is dating Jason Dolley? As in the actor?" Ali asked.

Charlotte nodded.

"How did they meet?" He asked.

"Apparently they met at that audition that I dragged her along to," Charlotte explained.

"Ahhh really?" Teddy commented "Why was I not informed of this?"

"Should you have been?" Charlotte enquired.

He shrugged and walked away.

"Alex, you've been quiet" Ed noticed "Are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry," he shrugged, "I'm fine."

Ali smiled to himself and Ed saw.

"Why you smiling?" Ed asked.

"I just thought...No matter" Ali replied.

"What? C'mon spill" Dan whined.

"No," Ali said firmly, "It doesn't matter."


	5. Chapter 5

-1As they were making their way to the photo shoot, Charlotte's phone bleeped  
and she picked up.  
"Hi? Look Lotte, I'm really, really sorry. I didn't mean to upset you, I just reacted badly I-" Charlotte interrupted.  
"Lily, it's ok, I know I was being stupid too, look just enjoy your date, I'll be at the studio shop on Realon Lane if you need me"   
Charlotte shoved the phone in her pocket, and was surprised to see that Alex had appeared.  
"That was Lily," Charlotte said.  
"Is she ok?" Alex asked, with a slight tinge to his voice.  
"Yeah, she's fine" Charlotte assured him. Alex nodded before entering the studio.  
The band was in the studio now, and were all in the middle of taking photos. The photographer had let them mess around with the cameras. Ed shuffled towards Charlotte who was laughing at Teddy and Ali, and snapped a photo of her.  
"No! Delete that!" Charlotte whined, as Ed ran off, smiling triumphantly.  
Then, out of nowhere, Teddy's phone bleeped.  
"Oi, Lotte, Lily said check your phone!" Charlotte nodded and pulled out her phone.  
Lily's message was brief and was badly written, outside the studio, something to tell you.   
"I'll be right back" Charlotte called to the others and rushed outside, to find Lily looking down at the ground.  
"Lil," Charlotte said nervously, rushing over to her, "What happened?"  
Lily looked up her eyes were red and she smiled weakly.  
"Jason wants to be just friends… he likes a girl who's prettier, smarter, and kinder, and more fun to be with…"  
Then she burst into tears. Charlotte guided her into the studio, and they stood in the waiting room, as Charlotte pulled out a tissue and wiped Lily's tearstained face.  
"I feel like a baby, you nannying me like this…" Lily whispered, laughing weakly.  
Suddenly the studio door swung open and Alex and Teddy rushed out, with Dan, Ali and Ed following.  
"What happened?" Teddy asked, angrily "What did that boy do to you?"   
Lily looked up as Charlotte and Teddy hugged her.  
"Tell me what he did," Dan commanded "I'll knock his bloody head off"   
"It's ok," Charlotte said, narrowing her eyes at her brothers, "She's ok now."  
Lily looked up at her cousins and Charlotte mouthed "I'll tell you later" to  
Teddy. He nodded.  
"I'm ok, why don't you guys carry on with the shoot, I'll watch" Lily announced.  
"Great idea." Ali said smiling, as he led her into the studio room.


	6. Chapter 6

-1"What happened?" Teddy questioned Charlotte.  
"Not now Teddy!" Charlotte said rushing after Ali and Lily. As Teddy finally arrived in the studio, he saw everybody else was already there. Charlotte  
rushed over to Ed where she was talking rapidly, whilst glancing around the  
room, whilst using big hand gestures. He looked at her puzzled. She looked awfully excited, but then again, it was Charlotte.  
About ten minutes later, they were all posing for a band photo. Everyone was surprised when they saw Alex was smiling for the camera. Charlotte didn't think he'd be smiling for no reason and she looked eagerly around to see why. As she turned to her left she saw that Lily was staring at Alex, and had blushed profusely.  
The camera snapped and they photo was done. Almost immediately,  
Alex walked over to Lily and whispered.  
"You made me smile in a photo. Well done" and he walked slowly back to Ali,  
Teddy and Dan, who were pleading with the photographer to let them play with  
the cameras again.  
"What you thinking about?" Ed asked Charlotte.  
"Nothing" Charlotte said, pulling herself back to earth.  
"Sure..." Ed said, cheekily  
poking her. They were giggling when Lily ran over and snapped a shot of them  
laughing together.  
"Oi! Delete that right now!" Charlotte yelled, chasing Lily.  
"Nope. I want to record your first romantic moment forever" Lily sang teasingly.  
Charlotte made a grab for the camera, but before she could, Ali called for it, and Lily  
threw it to him. He caught it and because Ali and Lily were no team for poor Charlotte, she gave in. Charlotte pouted before walking back over to Ed.  
"I think it's time to go." Ed said, pointing at the door, "We should have been out of here  
twenty minutes ago."  
"Come in, were leaving now," Teddy called out, as they  
gathered their stuff.  
The door swung open to reveal Jonny Bullitt, Charlotte's best friend.  
"Hello there Charlotte, fancy finding you here!" Jonny said smiling.  
"I'm here with my brothers' band," Charlotte replied.  
"Oh cool," Jonny smiled, "James, Dan and Andy are on their way here. We've got a photoshoot to do for our promo stuff."  
"Cool." Charlotte said, "I'd love to meet them but we best be going weve been here for  
ages!"   
Charlotte dragged Ed by his hand towards the door.  
"Oooh, got a boyfriend?" Jonny teased.  
Charlotte blushed brightly. "Ed, Jonny, Jonny, Ed" She introduced each other.  
Lily cleared her throat loudly from behind them.  
"Do introduce us Miss Hetherton" Ali said.  
"Guys, this is Jonny. He is a good friend of mine. Jonny this is Ali, Alex, Dan, Teddy and Lily," Charlotte introduced them.  
The rest of Electric City chose that moment to enter the room.  
"Hello!" Lily and Alex shouted loudly like school children. Then they burst out laughing.  
They were given some strange looks by the group of guys who had just entered.  
Jonny chuckled at their weirdness and then proceeded to introduce  
the band.  
"This is Dan, Andy and James," he pointed to them as he said their names.  
Alex, Lily and now Ali were waving manically. Charlotte looked around to see what had  
triggered it, and saw a can of orangeade.  
"Guys," Charlotte groaned  
"Yes?" They all said in unison.  
"These freaks are Lily, Alex and Ali. The relatively normal ones are my brothers, Teddy and Dan and my boyfriend Ed and I'm Charlotte."  
"Charlotte's got a boyfriend!" Lily sang loudly.  
"You already know!" Charlotte sang back.  
"The way some people are acting. You will probably have a boyfriend soon," Charlotte  
said, glancing pointedly at Alex.  
Ali sniggered quietly, Lily turned around skipped over to Ali and stuck her tongue out.  
"Kissy, kissy" Ali grinned.  
"C'mon guy's don't be so childish!" Dan commented.  
"You can talk." Ed muttered.  
"Are they always like this?" Jonny asked.  
"Pretty much," Charlotte nodded, "Come on guys, we've got to go! We said we were leaving ages ago"  
"Do we have too?" Lily and Alex whined.  
Then suddenly they both ran as quickly as possible towards the orangeade can. They both grabbed it and started to fight over it. Then there was a scream. They had both  
let go and it had landed directly on top of Charlotte. Lily and Alex looked like rabbits caught in headlights as they scarpered out of the door.  
"I'm gonna kill you!" Charlotte screamed.  
All four of the Electric City guys looked like they didn't know whether to be scared or amused.  
"I know why they're acting weird" Ed said wiping a drip of orangeade of Charlotte's cheek and tasting it, "There's some vodka in this, not much, but a bit, either that or  
they're hyper on fizzy bubbles"  
"Sorry about this..." Charlotte said, pushing all of the remaining Elliot Minor boys out.   
" I'll call you later Jonny!"  
When they came outside they looked around. Alex and Lily were nowhere to be seen.


	7. Chapter 7

"Well..." Teddy began.  
"Shut Up," Dan snapped.  
"Where do you reckon Alex and Lily are?" Ali questioned.  
"Dunno," Ed shrugged.  
"I dread to think," Teddy sighed.  
"Come on, they aren't terribly bright...and they are hyper. They can't have got far," Lotte said.  
As they turned the corner Alex and Lily were revealed.  
They were sat on the pavement and Lily was attempting to braid Alex's hair.  
"Stop moving!" Lily squealed.  
"Ouch! It hurts!" Alex wailed.  
"Well if you don't move, it won't hurt," Lily said in a 'duh' voice.  
"But... but... RUN!" He said pointing at the rest of the band.  
Lily kept hold of Alex's hair as he tried to run, causing him to fall back to the floor with a satisfying thump.  
"Owwwww!" Alex cried.  
"C'mon guys time to go back now," Charlotte said, annoyed.  
They refused to move.  
"Watch and learn," Ali smirked, walking slowly towards them.  
"C'mon time to go home now." he said in a motherly voice.  
"Ok!" They giggled before, skipping up and back to the Hetherton's with Ali.  
"How the bloody hell did you do that?" Charlotte, Teddy and Dan asked.  
"Easy parenting skills!" he exclaimed.  
"Emmm...Ali anything you'd like to tell us?" Ed asked.  
Ali looked confused for a second and then he realised what the guys must have thought.  
"No," he chuckled, "I used to babysit."  
"That's a relief!" Dan said, "I was worried for a second then!"  
"Why, worried you'd miss out on the fun?" Charlotte teased before running away.  
"Cheeky little. . ." Dan muttered, running after Lotte.  
"Are we the only mature ones?" Teddy asked as he spun to talk to Ali and Ed, but saw them attacking each other with sticks, "I spoke too soon."  
Ed and Ali were pretending to have a lightsaber battle with sticks as Lotte came sprinting back with Dan hot on her heels. She ran straight into Ali, knocking him to the ground.  
"You really are as immature as Dan, aren't you?" Ali asked.  
"I'm more wisdomful than him," she replied, matter-of-factly.  
Ali looked at her confused as they both stood up.  
Suddenly Charlotte's phone rang. She picked it up. A few moments later she turned to Lily.  
"Your mum says we all have to go to your house," she explained.  
"No! My rooms a mess!" Lily squealed before running away to tidy it.  
"Ok then..." Lotte said, "We'd better go slowly so she can actually tidy it up."  
When they arrived they saw a large pair of hazel eyes staring out of the upstairs window.  
Before they even knocked on the door, it swung open, revealing Lily's mother.  
"Hello dears," she cooed, "Dinner's ready," she said, ushering them into the dining room, were Lily was stood in a blue, starry apron.  
"Nice apron," Dan laughed.  
Lily smiled sweetly but didn't react.  
As they all sat down to a nice warm plate of spaghetti, Lily rushed around the table.  
"Pepper?" She asked  
Charlotte narrowed her eyes at Lily. She was being too nice.  
"No thanks," Charlotte and Dan chorused.  
"Yes please!" Teddy, Ali, Alex and Ed called out.  
Lily looked down and grinned evilly. She went round, giving them pepper one by one.  
"Cup of Tea?" Lily asked.  
"Yep!" They all chorused.  
"Sugar anyone?" She said politely.  
"Yes please," The lads replied.  
"No thanks, Lil," the twins said.  
Lily glared at them, knowing they had figured out her plan.  
As they all tucked in, Lily sat there smiling to herself as one by one the lads who took up her offers began to squirm.  
"Hot, Hot, Hot!" Ali screamed.  
"Eww. Is this salt?" Alex asked, spitting the tea back in the cup.  
"You are dead meat, missy," Alex mock glared, "Care to help me teach Lily a lesson?" he asked Ali.  
"Best be going..." Lily sang before running away.  
Alex and Ali shot to their feet and ran after her.  
"EEP!" Lily squealed as they rugby tackled her to the ground.  
"How about we see how well Lily tidied her room?" Lotte sang teasingly.  
"No!!!!!!" Lily screamed, deafeningly loud, causing Alex and Ali to jump away from her.  
"Cmon!" Lotte called leading them all up the stairs, "Here," she said opening the door.  
Lily blushed a violent red as they all entered her room.  
"I thought you tidied it?" Lotte asked, throwing a bra at her, "Put this away!"  
"I did..." she mumbled.  
Lily jumped onto her bed and Lotte followed.  
"I'm going to the loo," Teddy called out.  
"Ok," Lily said, waving him away.  
"Thanks for sharing," Ed screwed up his nose.  
"What's this?" Lotte teased, picking up a photo.  
It was a photo of Alex and Lily at a party from a few months earlier.  
"Oooooh!" Lotte squealed, "You've got a picture of you and Alex by your bed!"  
Lily glared at Lotte and ran from the room. She sped past Teddy as he came out of the bathroom.  
Teddy looked at Charlotte's guilty face and shook his head in disappointment before following Lily outside.  
He found her sitting on the bench in the back yard, on the verge of tears. As he approached her, he asked what had happened.  
"Charlotte started teasing me about the photo by my bed," she sniffled, "You know that I really like Alex, right?" Teddy nodded, "Well I didn't want him to find out just yet."  
Just then, Lily and Teddy heard an awkward cough from behind them.  
Lily spun around and suddenly blushed a bright red.  
"What?" Teddy asked her, confused at her sudden change of colour.  
He turned around and was shocked to see Alex stood behind them.  
"Oh…I….um….well...I," Lily choked out..  
"I came to see if you were alright..." Alex mumbled.


	8. Chapter 8

Shocked at Alex's sudden appearance, Lily turned around, so she didn't face him. There was a short awkward pause before Lily turned around.  
"I need to...-" There was a pause while she thought of what she was going to say, "-go to a keyboard lesson." Lilly mumbled, before turning rushing away, her heart pounding, and tears forming. Charlotte having watched out of the window sighed. Turning to Ali she asked.,  
"Ali? Could go and see if Lily's alright please?"  
"Why me? Shouldn't you or Teddy go? You're her cousins" Ali replied, confused about why Charlotte had asked him to check on her.  
"Because, she probably won't talk to me or Teddy at the moment, and she likes to say you're the older brother she never had," was Charlotte's reply. Looking at Ali's face of astonishment, she felt she had to prove she was telling the truth, so she pulled Lily's diary out from under her pillow and read:  
"Ali was over today, I really like it when he comes round. He's like the older brother I never had,"  
"See?"  
"I'll see what I can do," Ali said, pleased at being regarded as Lily's older brother.  
If Ali hadn't have known Lily very well, he wouldn't have been able to find her. But luckily, Ali was in-fact just like Lily's older brother, and conveniently knew where she would be. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Ali opened the under-stairs closet, and crawled in, squashing a carton of juice in the process.  
"Lily?" Ali called  
"Mmmf,"  
"Come here," Ali heard shuffling before Lily appeared by his side. He hugged her, and pulled a tissue out of his pocket to give to her.  
"Don't worry, It's not used," He assured her.  
Lily laughed quietly, wiped the tears off of her face, and smiled up at Ali.  
"Thankyou,"  
"You do realise you'll have to come out sooner or late,"Ali said  
"I'm only going out when you do," She retorted.  
"Well I'm hardly going to sit in here on my own-" he paused "-unless there is a crate of strongbow here"  
She laughed, "No only wine,"  
Ali pulled a face, before standing up ( that is as high as he could without hitting his head) and helped Lily out of the closet.  
"Don't tell them where you hid, " Ali told her,  
"Why?" Lily asked, confused.  
"You'd have a huge advantage in hide and seek,"  
After a pause, where they both ceased laughing, Lily looked up at Ali and asked  
"Could you possibly do something for me?"  
"Depends what it is," He answered.  
"Well, before I ran off, I said I was going to a keyboard lesson, could you possibly give me a few lessons?" Lily asked hopefully.  
"Is that all? I thought you were going to ask me to lock Charlotte in a cage or something drastic like that. Of course I'll give you a few lessons,"  
Lily gave out a squeal of happiness, before jumping up and hugging him once again.  
"Thank you, I wanted to learn another instrument anyway," She grinned.  
"What do you play?"  
"The Tin-whistle,"  
Both erupting into laughter, because of this small comment, Lily noticed something that made her laugh even harder.  
Laughing, Lily pointed at Ali's trousers,  
"That carton you sat on, has left a huge wet patch on your bum!" She said, almost crying with laughter.  
"Dammit, I look like I've had an accident," Ali pouted.

Teddy and Alex, having just returned back inside, were heading upstairs. On entering Lily's room, the saw Dan prancing around Ed and Charlotte.  
"What are you doing?" Teddy asked his brother.  
"Me? Nothing," Dan replied innocently, "You should be asked what these two have been up to,"  
Teddy's eyes narrowed as he looked at the pair,  
"What have they been doing?" He asked sternly.  
"Well, I was minding my own business, when I walked in her and saw the in a compromising position kissing. Who knows what could've happened if I didn't come in?"  
"And this compromising position was?" Teddy asked.  
"Sitting on his lap," Charlotte replied  
Alex burst out laughing, as teddy walked over and playfully hit his brother around the head.  
"Ouch!" Dan cried melodramatically.  
"You had me worried then," Teddy told Dan, "You're so childish! Lily's more mature that you and she's-"  
"The same age as his girlfriend," Charlotte finished.


	9. Chapter 9

"You're joking," Alex said, not knowing whether to laugh or be astonished. He looked at Teddy to see if that would show him what to do, and the look of Teddy's face, utter astonishment, told him precisely what to do.  
"Nope," Charlotte replied. Smirking, "He's dating Lily's friend Melanie."  
Teddy looked at Dan, shocked.  
"17! You're 20! She's like a baby!" Ed cried.  
"17's not really a baby," Alex commented.  
"Yeah, Lily's younger." Dan retorted, "And not very trustworthy,"  
"Where is she anyway?" Teddy asked.  
"With Ali," Charlotte replied, leading them out of the room. They went downstairs, and on to the garage, where they could hear music. On entering the room, they saw Lily stood over the piano, singing a song, aswell as playing an easy melody, with Ali helping her along. Upon hearing the guys enter, they started and jumped away from one another, as if they were doing something wrong. Lily turned a deep shade of red, before swiftly returning to her "practise". Ali walked over to the guys, smiling.  
"I thought her having piano lessons was an excuse," Ted stated, looking over at Lily.  
"Erm...No..." Ali improvised, "She asked me a while ago, so we started a ... week ago. She's quite good you know," He grinned at her as she looked up, and she smiled back before continuing. Alex was watching them very carefully.  
"Ali?" Lily called, "Can you help?"  
"Sure," He rushed over, and helped her with a bit she was evidently struggling on. She stuck her tounge out in concentration, and when she completed the song, she grinned widely.  
"Very good," Ali laughed, "You learn fast,"

"I never knew that Ali was teaching Lily!" Dan declared.  
"Did anyone?" Ed asked. Everyone shook their heads. Charlotte snook a look at Alex. He was gazing over at the piano.  
"Why is she learning a song from a musical?" He asked Lotte.  
"What song? I don't recognise it." Charlotte replied, listening harder.  
"Me neither," Dan agreed, puzzled.  
Alex walked over to the piano.  
"Will you sing it for us Lil?" He asked.  
She blushed at her nickname, before answering, "Not until I know it better,"  
Returning to the hard passage, she got it wrong, and after several failed attempts, a vexed Lily was persuaded by an understanding Ali to try it again tomorrow.  
"Does anyone need to stay over?" Lily asked, "I'll sort the guest room,"  
"I'm staying a Char- Dan's" Ed mumbled.  
"You mean Lotte's," Ali teased.  
"Would you mind if I and Ali stay here tonight?" Alex asked Lily quietly.  
"Not at all," She smiled, "I'll get the room done,"  
A few minutes passed and Lily came downstairs, pulling a face.  
"Mother dear says that you'll have to sleep in my room. One on the top bunk, or one on the floor or..... sharing with me,"  
There was a short pause before Dan stood up, stretching he said, "Well best be off, you know, home,"  
"I dibbs top bunk!" Ali called, looking at Lily and Alex staring down, embarrassed, "Yeah, it is a nice carpet,"  
"We'll be over at 9-ish tomorrow Lils, Behave," Teddy said, walking over and hugging his cousin. "Night,"  
After all the hugging and goodbye's were over, Lily turned to Ali and Alex.  
"Need 'Jamas?" She asked.  
"I'll just sleep in my boxers," Ali joked, "Please and Thank you Lils,"  
"Thanks," Alex mumbled.  
Lily ran upstairs, and returned down with some of Teddy's and Dan's Pyjamas.  
"Why do you have your cousin's PJ's here?"  
"Incase they get locked out of the house, or stay over."  
There was a knock on the door, and Ali opened it to reveal a soaking Charlotte and Co.  
"Locked out again?" Lily asked, ushering them indoors out of the rain. This should be fun, like a huge sleepover!"  
She then squealed in happiness, before skipping upstairs. A few moments later, bedding came flying down the stairs, as Dan walked over to the sofa and pulled out a double bed. The sofa was pushed back, along with the armchairs and a double mattress was taken from the garage and placed on the living room floor.  
"Okay," Lily began, "Ed and Charlotte, On the double mattress, Alex and Ali on the double pull out bed, I'll go on the sofa above, Ted and Dan on the armchairs."  
"Sounds good to me," Dan grinned, pouncing at the larger and softer armchair. There was then a scramble for clothes. Teddy and Dan walked upstairs to get their Pj's, as Ali and Alex grabbed their loaned PJ's.  
"Erm, Lil?" Alex mumbled, "I have two PJ bottoms,"  
"Just give one to Ed," Lotte called, dragging Lily out of the room and upstairs so they could get changed. On entering the living room fifteen minutes later, (They'd sauntered outside for a while, so they didn't walk in on any of the lads changing) and saw all the lads lounging on their "Beds".  
As Lily and Charlotte were seated on their beds, Lily's mother opened the door.  
"Night guys," She said, "Teddy, keep them under wraps please," She smile at them all, before shutting the door quietly behind her. Lily's father popped his head around the door to say goodnight, and his eyes narrowed as he saw the two topless boys – Ed and Alex. "Lillian, Behave, Goodnight all, Teddy keep and eye on your cousin,"  
After hearing the footsteps up the stairs, they all settled down in their beds. It was by now quite late, and people were getting tired. Dan was the first to go.  
"Needs his beauty sleep," Ali laughed.  
"What's the time?" Teddy asked.  
"11.40," Lily replied, yawning.  
She looked around to see who was asleep.  
"Awww," Lily cooed, pointing at Lotte, who was asleep in Ed's arms. "How sweet,"  
Teddy pulled a face before climbing under his blanket.  
There were a few moments of silence.  
'Ouch, Ali, move your elbow," Alex whined.  
"I'm comfy now," Ali replied.  
"You take up too much room," Alex mumbled grumpily.  
"Shhh, everyone's asleep, I'll swap places with one of you if it'll keep you quiet." Lily whispered.  
They shuffled around, and soon, everyone was comfortable, and asleep.


End file.
